Sixth Grade Woes
by Polkahotness
Summary: New Year. New Clothes. New Grade. Same Feelings. Maybe Sixth Grade isn't all it's cracked up to be.
1. Big Fish, Little Fish

"All I'm saying Pheebs is if this year is HALF the year LAST year was," I explained while walking up the steps of PS 118 on this the first day of sixth grade, "get ready for disappointment- am I right?"

Phoebe chuckled from where she walked beside me holding a stack of notebooks tightly to her chest as we walked. "I wouldn't think of it in that regards, Helga. Perhaps this year will be more eventful than the previous years- I hear sixth graders go on approximately three more field trips per year than other grades."

I shrugged my shoulders as we reached the doors and I pushed a kid out of the way who had been at the doors before us; easily giving Phoebe and I access to the inside of the all-too-familiar building. "Yeah well I ALSO hear sixth graders get to dissect cow eyeballs so maybe you're on to something, Pheebs. Maybe this year is OUR year."

"Do you really believe that?" Phoebe asked once we were inside and about to round the corner to where the sixth-grade-lockers were.

"Yeah- why not?" I asked confidently while tilting my chin up in the air and closing my eyes with pride; my chest pushed out to lead the way as I marched down the hall. "Afterall, we ARE the biggest fish in the pond, aren't we?"

"Well, yes I suppose so-" Phoebe said thoughtfully.

"And the biggest fish in the pond RULE the pond, right?"

"I guess so, Helga, but-"

"So this year is BOUND to be the bes-"

"Helga," Phoebe cut me off though I paid little attention as I marched.

"-t year for THE biggest fish; THE-"

"Helga!"

"-Helga G. Patak-OOF!" I hollered as I slammed into somebody face-first only to fall flat on my back.

"Helga! Helga are you alright?" Phoebe asked as she looked at me from above where I lay.

I reached up to rub at the back of my head and groan, "Yeah, yeah Pheebs, I'm FINE. What the heck-" I began to ask but only had to open my eyes to see just what had happened. "A-Arnold?" I asked with surprise; though by this point in my life, I really SHOULD be used to him ramming into me.

"Sorry, Helga," Arnold said while pushing himself off of the floor to stand and brush his clothes off from the dusty floor. I eyed him as he straightened his new jacket which I'd never seen him wear before. Subtly, my eyes drifted down to see that silly skirt of his didn't look so much a SKIRT anymore; just normal coat tails to an almost-too-big-but-fits-way-better-than-it-USED-to button up plaid shirt hidden under his usual teal sweater. His pants fit him better too- _Was that a new style of jeans?_ And on his seemingly-larger feet were two shiny red fresh-out-of-the-box sneakers that (for some weird reason) made my heart flutter inside my chest. I forced myself to look back at him and clear my throat as he tried to explain himself, "I didn't see you-"

"You didn't SEE me?" I repeated with a sudden scowl and glare in his general direction while standing up to loom over him. "How could you not SEE me? I'm practically six feet TALLER than you, footballhead!"

He let out a sigh and collected his books which had fallen out of his backpack from our little run-in. "You're right, Helga. I'm sorry."

"You're SORRY?" I shouted, my fists clenching at my waist as I bubbled over in over-exaggerated anger, "CRIMINY, you're ALWAYS sorry- aren't you Hair Boy? Well, I'll tell you ONE thing, BUCKO," I said while poking my index finger hard into his chest, "You better WATCH yourself THIS year, bub." I pushed my finger off his chest and returned it to my hip. "Helga G. Pataki isn't putting up with you OR your freaky football-headed shenanigans. GOT IT?"

Arnold shook his head slowly back and forth while looking up at me skeptically. "Sure, Helga. Whatever you say."

"That's RIGHT whatever I say," I repeated while crossing my arms over my chest tightly and beginning to walk passed him; my shoulder purposefully running into him as I walked with Phoebe close behind. "And don't you forget it."

Once we were passed him, I heard him call back to me, "Nice to see you TOO, Helga," his voice sending a chill down my back as my nerves completely lost it underneath my skin.

"Hey uh… hey Pheebs?" I asked with slight anxiousness in my tone.

"Yes, Helga?"

"How's about you meet me in class, huh? Save me a GOOD seat in the back- don't let HAROLD get SMART and think he can go and take it just cause he got there FIRST, alright?" I demanded while focusing ahead on the wooden door I was preparing myself to wander into.

"Of course, Helga. Saving!" She cheerfully chirped before scurrying away to our classroom as I made my escape to the Janitor's closet up ahead.

 _Almost there,_ I urged myself on as I took abnormally large steps in it's direction across the hallway.

I reached out quickly for the familiar brass handle and after a couple of double takes on either side of me, I opened the door and closed it on myself once safely inside. After a moment of letting my eyes adjust to the sudden change of light, I reached up to pull on the lightbulb chain; the room instantly flooding with dim light.

"That Arnold," I said to myself while glancing around at the shelves lined with cleaning supplies and boxes of garbage bags. I leaned over to rest on the janitor's cart hiding with me in the closet, "He thinks he's SO smart, him and that FOOTballhead of his. Think's he's so special with his new clothes and extra three inches. HA! What a goon. What a doof! 12 years old and he hasn't changed a-stinkin' bit! How I HATE him- completely and utterly DESPISE him and that messy stack of wild blonde hair."

My voice softened as I reached over to gently grab the mop that was connected to the janitor's cart; my eyes softly shutting, "Hair that," I brushed my fingers through the dry mop's head, "smells so delicious I can't hardly stand it but I'd never TELL Arnold that because it isn't like I'm in LOVE with that kid- not, not anymore…"

With a peek out of one eye, I looked around myself before exhaling and dramatically saying, "Oh who am I kidding- I'm in LOVE with him! I'm STILL in love with him- I've never STOPPED loving him and that silly footballhead." I pulled the mop fully from the cart and pressed it to my chest while spinning once around the closet.

"Though years have passed, my love, my feelings remain ever the same. How I long for your sweet embrace now more than ever as we grow older and more mature in our eleven-almost-twelve-year-old-selves. How I ache for your love even after our chance encounter on this- our first day of sixth grade."

Sixth grade.

I was a SIXTH grader. No longer the little fish in the pond like we once were- but BIG fish -like I'd told Phoebe.

As a sixth grader, I was the new big fish- and so was Arnold.

I dropped the mop to fall against the shelves and reached inside my shirt to pull out Arnold's face from last year- it somehow seeming so much younger than it had moments ago. Could one summer have changed him that much?

"Arnold, my love, my one true soul mate," I said to his half-lidded gaze staring up at me through the glass of my locket, "I pray that as we grow older, as we grow wiser, as we age and blossom into the adults we will one day become," I pulled the locket to my heart and softly cooed, "we can grow closer in ways I've never allowed us to become; that perhaps THIS YEAR I may FINALLY be able to show you who I REALLY am- the real and authentic Helga G. Pataki."

I shut my eyes softly and finally let out the swoon I'd been holding in, "Oh, Arnold…"

Waiting for the usual breathing I'd become so accustomed to hearing after speeches of this caliber, I gave it a full minute before dropping my arms from my heart to look around the empty closet. "Hmm. No Brainy, huh?" I asked the emptiness before shrugging and placing my locket back inside my shirt.

"Maybe things really ARE looking up this year," I commented while reaching for the door to open it.

And there.

Standing RIGHT THERE in front of the door.

None other than that breathing geek-bait I'd been waiting for.

With a grunt, shove and a THUMP to the floor, I pushed Brainy and stepped over him as he lay in the hallway and I stalked my way to class.

Maybe things are looking up? Pfft. Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it.

* * *

 _ **Can you guys tell I was inspired by a certain new sloo of pictures from SDCC?**_

 _ **This little idea popped in my head the MOMENT i saw the pictures and I just HAD to write about it.. I have another idea in this universe I have going, so i'll leave the story going for now.**_

 _ **Get excited for the next little chapter-ette. It'll be great!**_

 _ **xoxo**_

 _ **Polka**_

 _ **PS**_

 _ **REVIEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW**_


	2. Flirting 101

One week into the sixth grade and Helga was already making my life miserable.

In fact, the more I thought about it- which was a lot -Helga was making life significantly worse than she ever had before… and I couldn't figure out why.

Well, maybe I didn't want to figure out why, but Gerald seemed to think he knew.

"She's crushin' on you, man," he told me as we sat doing our Current Events homework for the night. "You're just too stubborn to SEEIN' it."

"I am not, Gerald. Helga doesn't… feel that way." I took a breath and managed to cough out, "Anymore."

"Anymore?" Gerald repeated while sitting up and twisting his body to look at me with a raised eyebrow. "What do you MEAN, 'anymore?'"

Shrugging my shoulders as I began to internally panic at what I had just admitted, I repeated, "Not-not anymore. That's all."

Gerald sat and stared at me for a moment as if inspecting my expression for any cracks. Pursing his lips he hummed out, "Mm mm MM," and shook his head. "Spill, my friend."

"Spill?" I played dumb, but Gerald was too smart for me- he knew when I was lying and I was lying BAD.

"You heard me, man. You've got some kind of secret you're hiding up in there… why don't you let a brother know already?" He narrowed his eyes on me and said just above a whisper, "You and Pataki got a secret THING going on or something?"

Instantly my cheeks flushed a bright shade of red though I frowned and shook my head rapidly. "No! No we don't, Gerald. Don't be crazy."

"Hey now- nobody said crazy, alright?" he said while holding his hands up in surrender to my outburst. "I just think that if you got a secret, you should feel comfortable enough around ME- your BEST FRIEND -to TELL me about it, okay?"

I nodded my head while calming myself down, "Ri-right. You're right, Gerald."

"Of course I'm right, now, WHAT'S all this about Helga G. Pataki not liking you anyMORE?"

The next day, we had a plan. Gerald figured that if Helga really DID like me, there was only _one way_ to prove it- by flirting.

The only problem? I'm not very good at it; at least not like Gerald is. Ever since I can remember Gerald has been the ladies man out of the two of us, but as much as I begged and pleaded, he said it wouldn't quite be the same coming from him like it would from me.

Despite my nerves, I walked into PS 118 confidently and (mostly) completely ready to disprove Gerald's theory; that everything Helga had told me was old news and sixth grade had only brought about a more spiteful Helga and that was all there was to it.

"Psst, lover boy," Gerald whispered from the corner of his mouth as we walked in the hallway, "Pataki at two o'clock."

Sure enough, standing by her locker with Phoebe at her side was Helga- wearing a dress I'd never seen her wear before though it bore similarities with the one she'd usually wore. It was a lighter shade of pink and fit her less-boxy than her old dress had. Atop her head among seemingly blonder hair still sat her bow; it's pink brighter than ever.

There was something about Helga… something I couldn't quite put my finger on. But… it almost… MADE me want to compliment her.

So, per Gerald's idea and slightly my own, I walked up to Helga with a smile lining my lips and my heart racing in my chest.

Her eyes shot over to me and narrowed as I approached her. "Arnoldo? What business do YOU have coming over here in MY hallway?" She demanded as if the entire hall had suddenly been gifted to her.

Ignoring her attitude, I instead focused on what Gerald had told me. I shrugged my shoulders and offered her a small smile. "I just thought I'd come over here..." I said slowly before swallowing and spitting out the rest of my sentence, "…and tell you that I think you look nice today."

Her eyes widened slightly and her expression softened. "You-you think I look…nice?" Red slowly filled in her cheeks and I nodded my head.

"Yeah." I nodded in her direction as I shoved my hands deep into the pockets of my jacket. "Your dress. It's-it's new. It looks nice."

She stood dumbfounded before me as Phoebe quickly darted her eyes between us.

"Th-th-thanks…?" Helga sputtered out questioningly and I let out the breath I'd been holding to smile wider.

"You're welcome, Helga. I'll see you in class," I finished before boldly offering her a wink and turning around to follow Gerald down the hall to our classroom.

"Well Gerald," I asked, my body somehow filling with adrenaline that made me feel stronger than I had ten minutes ago. "You think it worked? You think we'll find out if she was telling the truth?"

A loud SLAM of someone falling into a locker echoed behind me and Gerald turned to look over his shoulder with a slight smirk. "Mmmmhm," He hummed with a chuckle, "looks like you got yourself a not-so-secret-admirer, my man. And it's Helga." He shook his head. "Helga G. Pataki."

"Yeah," I repeated while turning over my own shoulder to see Helga being helped up from the ground by Phoebe. A smile overpowered my face and it wasn't long before my cheeks burned from smiling as what our little test had just seemed to reveal.

Maybe a few _more_ tests wouldn't hurt.

* * *

 _ **Okay, okay, this might be my last little sixth grade ficlet for now. I just couldn't help myself with this idea- which might turn into something bigger, but i wanna focus on my story "The Club" before i go starting any new stories again haha.**_

 _ **Either way, hope you enjoyed and be sure to review! I'll keep this not-completed for now in case inspiration moves me again!**_

 _ **xox**_

 _ **Polka**_


	3. Sisterly Bonding

_**So I guess I'm writing a story now- fancy that. Totally wasn't planning on it but this fic just seems to write itself. All because I saw some designs from SDCC. What a lame-brain I am.**_

 _ **anyway, read it, love it, review it and let me know what you think!**_

* * *

I did NOT want to go shopping with Olga. Absolutely NOT.

In fact, there were a vast variety of OTHER things I would LOVE to do instead of going 'back to school shopping' with Miss Perfect. Those things included but were certainly not limited to:

Sticking pins under my fingernails

Attempt to learn clog dancing in real, authentic, wooden clogs

Sing the alphabet backwards and forwards repeatedly for a solid seven days

Eat strawberries

I mean really, the list could go on, and it DID as I sat stubbornly on the bench outside the local Mall and thought through the many, many, MANY things I would rather do than be where I was RIGHT NOW.

"Come on, baby sister, it won't be _all_ bad, you'll see." Olga cooed at me as I remained planted on the bench with my usual scowl lining my lips.

"I'm not going," I said through my teeth as I crossed my arms over my chest and frowned.

"But don't you want to look nice when you walk into school next week? I'm sure by now everybody else already has their new little outfits on AND-" she said dramatically while leaning in to me as if we were sharing some kind of lame-brain sister-secret, "-don't you want to impress all the boys? What about that boy you've liked for so long- what was his name?"

My eyes widened as I dropped my arms to my sides and softly said, "Arnold?"

"Arnold!" She exclaimed loudly (WAY too loudly) and smiled to herself. "That's his name! Don't you want to impress little Arnold next time he sees you?"

Unfortunately, that's all it took for me to stand up from the bench and embark on an Olga Shopping Trip like I'd never experienced before.

She made me try on EVERYTHING. It was like I wasn't her sister anymore, but rather, her little dress up doll she could just continuously throw clothes at. I must have tried on the entire 'junior miss' section at EVERY STORE in the entire MALL- all for my freakish love for Arnold.

Arnold, who, had had his OWN little makeover; though probably with less giggling, grunting and dresses that got stuck over his bulbous head.

Seriously- who did these clothing designers think these clothes were FOR? Not only was every neck hole SOMEHOW too small for my head, but every dress, shirt and skirt within a five-mile radius clung to my body too tightly and made me feel more like Harold after eating 12 Mr. Fudgy's and an entire can of whipped topping.

That was when our little shopping trip REALLY took a turn for the worst.

Olga sniffled as she watched me in the mirror; the latest dress she'd thrown at me barely able to zip up. "Oh, Helga," she choked out while reaching up to dab her eyes with a Kleenex that seemingly manifested from nowhere.

"I'm telling you- these clothes are NOT working. Who am I supposed to impress in THIS?" I asked while throwing my hands up in exasperation.

Olga merely shook her head behind me and sniffled again. "My baby sister… isn't…" _Oh no, not the waterworks again…_

"Please Olga, save the tears," I tried but she had already worked herself up and it was all over now.

Cue uncontrollable sobbing.

"You've just… g-g-grown up so-so _fast_ , Helga," she cried while burying her face in the tissue and her own hands.

"Olga. Seriously?" I turned around from the mirror to look at her which apparently only made matters worse.

"Here you are, st-st-standing right before me- a young l-la-lady." She shook her head while blowing her nose loudly as I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Yeah, Olga, I'd think at your age you'd understand the whole circle of LIFE by now- it's called PUBERTY, DOI." I retorted which only made her walk towards me and fling her arms around my shoulders to envelop me in a very one-sided hug.

"I just can't believe you're already in the sixth grade," she mused in my shoulder and I rolled my eyes while offering a half-hearted pat on her back.

"Yep, I know, Olga. It's all very shocking," I said with heavy sarcasm. "Imagine- sixth grade coming after fifth coming after forth. It's almost like we never could have predicted it, huh?"

Ignoring my satire, Olga finally let me go to lean back and look at me with mascara soaked cheeks. "I think it's time we bond like we've never bonded before- something I've always wanted to do with you."

"And just what did you have in mind, 'Big Sis?'" I added for affect though it only egged her on.

"Helga, you're at a time in your life when appearance is important, even though it shouldn't be," she began to explain; her tone heartfelt and entirely serious. "I know mommy and daddy haven't been as hard on you as they have on me, but in some ways- that's a good thing."

I raised my brow in curiosity at where she was headed with this. "What's your point?"

"My point is, Helga, that as your big sister- I will _always_ be there for you. Just like I'm here for you right now."

"Here for me…how?"

A smile lined her lips as she pushed herself up to stand and proudly put her hands on her hips. "Helga, it's time you graduated from Baby Sister to young adult."

"Okay…? I'm not following you here," I said with heavy confusion though Olga didn't miss a beat.

"I'm going to take you into the BIG GIRL section," she announced and I could actually feel my heart fall into my stomach where it would drown in a painfully acidic death.

 _This cannot be happening._

* * *

 _This cannot be happening._

 _This canNOT be HAPPENING._

I chanted the words to myself as Olga dragged me into the next step up of clothing. I'd been HAPPY in my little child section. In fact, I'd be happy wearing a burlap sack into school but APPARENTLY back-to-school-shopping had to be more torturous than normal in the fact that Olga was getting all sappy and sentimental on me.

Within minutes, she'd thrown jeans of every color, shirts of every design and dresses from every fashion into my arms along with bras I never realized I needed until it was too late.

To some people, this was the experience of a lifetime. Maybe someone out there YEARNED to be taken under the wing of their perfect older sister and shown the ways of womanhood through every department store known to man, but ME?

I was ready to fake a heart attack just so I could get a free ride OUT of here and away from Olga.

After buying at least a hundred different things I DIDN'T want, trying on more clothes than I'd EVER own in my lifetime and begging Olga for an hour STRAIGHT to pack it up and go home already, I finally came across ONE THING that, to me, screamed for my attention.

Much to Olga's dismay, that is.

"Are you sure that's the dress you want, sis?" Olga asked curiously while tapping the top of her lip with her index finger.

"What? You got a PROBLEM with it or something?" I sneared back at her from the mirror where I could see her standing behind me.

"No, of course not," she said making my brow raise in surprise, "I'm glad you finally chose something you think represents you, but, it's just-"

"Just WHAT?" I snapped back while crossing my arms and turning around to face her in the dress I'd chosen.

She smiled warmly at me like I was an infant rather than nearly 12. "It's so much like the dress you wear now, Helga. Don't you want to appear more grown up? More like a young lady?"

I dropped my arms to my sides slowly before turning around to look at myself once again in the full length mirror; its three perspectives showing each side of me to myself as I wore the outfit I'd picked out.

It was a pink dress. Obviously. But a lighter shade of pink than my old dress had been. At the bottom of the dress were two stripes- the first stripe the familiar pink of my bow and the second stripe a bright red. Under the dress I'd chosen to wear a different undershirt than my usual- one that had less of a bulgy collar to always make my neck itch.

I looked myself over from head to toe; at the new look I'd created for myself.

Sure, it wasn't ALL that different than my usual, I'd give her that. But I FELT different. There was something about the way the dress made me look less like a box and more of a 'lady' as Olga would call me, that made my own cheeks flush once I'd given myself a good look over.

 _This'll do. This is-is…nice,_ I told myself with a nod of my head. _I can handle this._

I glanced up to where my bow sat perfectly in the center of my head; my blonde pigtails sticking out from either end. While staring at the bright pink of the ribbon, a memory flashed through my mind; a memory I'd kept in lock down for desperate measures and only when the time called.

It was that of Arnold- the first time I'd met him -with that umbrella of his as he held it over my soaking wet and mud-stained head. Despite my rough exterior, he offered me a smile and told me he liked my bow.

My bow.

He liked it because it was pink, like my pants.

It was THAT DAY I knew pink would ALWAYS be my color. It was THAT DAY I knew I had fallen in love the moment his green eyes met mine. It was THAT DAY my life had changed- all because of a color and a bow.

I offered my reflection a small smile and said firmly to Olga, "This is what I want and don't you DARE try to stop me, or you'll regret it."

Olga chuckled from behind me and nodded her head. "Of course, baby sis-" she paused and let out a deep breath before finishing with, "I mean, sister."

My expression softened as I twisted around to look at her with a genuine smile. "Thanks, Olga."

She nodded her head and gestured for me to change out of the clothes in my dressing room. Once I'd closed the door, Olga boldly said, "You know, Helga, we could do this every year, you know. Spend some sister time together and go shopping…maybe grab some lunch at the nearby Italian restaurant?"

I cringed at her idea as I pulled the zipper down in the back of my new dress. "Olga- don't ruin it, okay?"

But she did anyway with her next choice words. "If you say so, sis. Now, how about after this we grab some fro-yo and head on over to the shoe department for some new shoes!"

* * *

The next day at school I walked in proudly wearing my new outfit. Naturally, Pheebs was the only one who took notice.

"Wow, Helga," she said once I'd reached my locker where she had been waiting for me, "it appears you have finally gone back to school shopping!"

I smirked and reached for the dial of my locker and began twisting it according to my combination. "You got THAT right, Phoebe. And guess who was the lucky one to come help me pick out my new get-up?"

Phoebe offered a sad smile while tilting her head slightly, "Would you be referring to your sister?"

I opened the locker door and nodded my head while grabbing a pack of gum to unwrap. "As if it could be anyone ELSE," I groaned while slamming the locker shut and picking a piece of gum out of the pack. "You want a piece?"

Phoebe shook her head quickly and offered out a stop sign with her right hand. "No thank you, Helga. I try not to partake in gum-chewing prior to recess."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Suit yourself," I said while unwrapping the piece I'd offered her and shoving it in my mouth. "Anyway," I started again while chewing loudly, "she made me try on the entire STORE practically before realizing I had to go up a size cause I'm, ya know, GROWING."

"You have to give her some credit, Helga," Phoebe said softly while adjusting her glasses on her nose. "At least Olga is making the effort to try and be a part of your life, even if she isn't who you were expecting."

I laughed, "Guess you got me there, Pheebs. I wasn't expecting anyone. 'Cept you that is," I offered while Pheobe smiled back at me.

"Happy to be of service," she said with a chuckle.

"You don't think this looks too child-like? Too much like my OLD dress?" I asked while turning to face her; though she kept facing ahead of me.

Before she could answer, out the corner of my eye, a certain football-head began walking towards me and I immediately snapped myself back into defense mode while glaring at him. "Arnoldo?" I asked while crossing my arms over my chest. "What business do YOU have coming over here in MY hallway?" I demanded.

Arnold shrugged his shoulders with a smile, a haunting sort-of beautiful smile, and said, "I just thought I'd come over here… and tell you that I think you look nice today."

My eyes widened as I soaked in his compliment; the words making my knees feel like jelly ready to collapse. "You-you think I look…nice?" I repeated as blood rushed to my cheeks.

"Yeah," he said with a nod while nervously shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket. "Your dress. It's-it's new. It looks nice."

 _Keep it together… don't crack, Helga. He's COMPLIMENTING you!_

I could feel his gaze burn me alive where I stood frozen at his words. My tongue felt like it had ballooned nearly 5x in size in my mouth and I struggled to find the words I wanted to say.

"Th-th-thanks…?" I managed. _C'mon Helga! Pull yourself together! Insult him! Call him a creep! Do ANYTHING but STAND HERE LIKE A TONGUE-TIED MORON!_

"You're welcome, Helga. I'll see you in class," he finally said before sending a wink my way with paralyzing properties.

My knees buckled under me as I watched him turn around to walk away and within seconds I lost my balance entirely and fell over only to slam into the lockers. Phoebe was quick to try and catch me, but even though she'd grown a few inches, she was still no match for my entire body weight collapsing from a WINK.

"Helga! Are you alright?" She asked while reaching down to help me stand up from my love-stupor.

"He-he…he WINKED at me," I managed while staring after him in confusion.

"Arnold? Now that you mention it-" she began, but I cut her off with a lone finger while brushing off my new dress and thinking out loud.

"The little wimp WINKED at me…" I said again while narrowing my eyes in his direction before widening them once again, "And I-I LET him…"

"Helga?" Phoebe asked in confusion while staring at me from where she stood.

I pointed my finger in his direction and shook it with thought, "He thinks he's ON to me or something… he thinks he can use this AGAINST me, does he?"

"Helga, what are you talking about exactly?" Pheobe tried, but my mind was moving a mile a minute.

"Well he CAN'T. I'll show him. I'll show him that he can't just FLIRT with Helga G. Pataki and get AWAY with it!" I was becoming erratic with each new thought sprouting in my hormonal head. "Phoebe!" I hollered while she nodded once in my direction. "We have to go. We have to plan an attack- NOW."

"An… attack? Helga, I'm not so sure we should-"

I grabbed Phoebe's arm and pulled her with me in the direction of our classroom; effectively cutting her and her conscience-speaking-ways off.

Arnold had WINKED at me- deliberately WINKED at me and that was flirting if I ever saw it. Sixth grade had done a lot for everyone- us being big fish in the pond at last -but sixth grade had also brought about something I hadn't prepared for in the slightest… and I wasn't so sure I was prepared.

When lunchtime rolled around, I would be READY. That's right, in approximately four hours and fifty-five minutes, I would be ready to comeback at Arnold better than some lame-brain WINK.

I just had to figure out HOW.

Now that's not so hard, is it? This, was SURE to be a piece of cake.

* * *

 _ **How cute is this?! I'm having a blast writing this- I've never written as the gang still kids and whatnot so this is fun :)**_

 _ **i know the timeline is a little weird, but first chapter was first day of school. Next chapter was like a few days/week after the first day and then this chapter is the day before the second chapter/day of second chapter.**_

 _ **Maybe I just made that more confusing, idk.**_

 _ **LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! PLEASE REVIEW! xox**_

 _ **and also, if you're into dark and awesome character-driven stories, self-promo here for the story I'm also writing, "The Club." It's gonna be a good one. (yes i plan on finishing Denting the 'Do, it's coming soon i swear!)**_

 _ **Thanks!**_


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